Good Ba Ba blitzes Hong Kong Mile in record time

Good Ba Ba returned to form with a vengeance (Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Jockey Club)

John Yuen Se Kit's GOOD BA BA (Lear Fan) produced his trademark dizzying

burst of speed in the stretch to capture Sunday's $2.1 million Hong Kong Mile

(HK-G1) for the second straight year, becoming its first back-to-back winner. This time around, however, the Andreas Schutz

charge was far more emphatic. Not only did Hong Kong's reigning Horse of the

Year spurt a commanding 2 1/2 lengths clear, but he also set a new Sha Tin

record of 1:32.71 on the good turf course. American star Kip Deville (Kipling),

racing without his customary blinkers, wound up a disappointing

ninth of 14 runners.

"I have ridden some horses with a good turn of foot, and maybe he's not

Zarkava, but winning this race today for the second time makes him the best

miler in the world," said Christophe Soumillon, who picked up the mount when

regular rider Olivier Doleuze was sacked by Good Ba Ba's connections. "I'm very

happy to have won the race, but I'm feeling sorry for Olivier, but these things

happen in racing."

The leader Egyptian Ra corners into the stretch while Kip Deville (right) spins his wheels (Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Jockey Club)

Turning for home, Kip Deville failed to cope with the unfamiliar right-handed

turn, and the gray floated even wider out. Meanwhile, Able One (Cape Cross

[Ire]) advanced into contention, but Good Ba Ba was just gearing up for

Soumillon. The bay gelding unleashed a blistering run to overwhelm the field and

convincingly turn the tables on Egyptian Ra, who had upset him in the

International Mile Trial (HK-G2) last time out.

"I always thought he was a champion from the first day I got him and today he

really showed his class," Schutz said. "His run was much better than some people

said last time (when a rallying third) -- his sectional time for the last 800

meters was very good. I knew he was in the same form as last year but to win

like that and break the track record was beyond my expectations."

Good Ba Ba is in complete control (Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Jockey Club)

"The winner was just too good," Able One's rider Darren Beadman said. "Maybe

my horse was just one run short, but we hadn't been able to squeeze another race

into him. Still he has run very well."

French invader Spirito del Vento (Indian Lodge) rallied from

near the back of the pack to grab fourth, followed by Super Hornet (Rodrigo de

Triano), Armada (Towkay), Joy and Fun, Major Cadeaux (Cadeaux Genereux), Kip

Deville, Pressing (Ire) (Soviet Star), Natagora, Awesome Gem (Awesome Again),

Laa Rayb (Storm Cat) and Bullish Cash (Howbaddouwantit).

"It was just the wrong way round for him, and he was never tracking

comfortably," Cornelio Velasquez said of Kip Deville, who continued to race on

the far outside down the stretch. "He was on the wrong lead."

Christophe Soumillon shows his flamboyant side (Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Jockey Club)

Good Ba Ba now sports a career mark of 30-14-4-2 with a bankroll exceeding

$5.5 million. The bay gelding first burst onto the scene with victories in the

Chairman's Trophy (HK-G2) and International Mile Trial in 2007. His thrilling,

photo-finish score in last year's Hong Kong Mile was the first of four straight

Group 1 triumphs, encompassing the Stewards' Cup (HK-G1) in January, the Queen's

Silver Jubilee (HK-G1) in March and the Champions Mile (HK-G1) in April. Good Ba

Ba's streak was snapped in the Yasuda Kinen (Jpn-G1), where he was but a pale

shadow of himself in 17th, and Schutz has ruled out any future forays to Japan.

He had raced twice since the commencement of the new Hong Kong season this fall,

finishing a closing sixth in the Mission Hills Sha Tin Trophy (HK-G3) and the

aforementioned third in the International Mile Trial. Doleuze lost the mount

after those defeats, but both outings tuned Good Ba Ba up perfectly for his

show-stopping run on Sunday.

The six-year-old was bred in Kentucky by Haras Santa Maria de Araras and was

purchased by his current connections for $218,593 at the 2004 Hong Kong

International Sale. Out of the winning Zilzal mare Elle Meme, Good Ba Ba is a

half-brother to the stakes-placed filly Ruban Bleu (Broken Vow), an unnamed

yearling filly by Saarland and a weanling filly by Aldebaran.

His family has produced more than its fair share of world-class milers,

churning out such champions as 2003 Breeders' Cup Mile queen Six Perfections

(Fr) (Celtic Swing) and multiple champion miler Miesque (Nureyev), heroine of

the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) in 1987 and 1988 and the dam of outstanding stallion

Kingmambo (Mr. Prospector).

"I think I'd like to keep him in Hong Kong for the big mile races here next

year," Schutz said, "but we will think about going to Dubai for the Duty Free

(UAE-G1) (on March 28)."